The present invention relates to signal translation of audio signals to compensate for the difference in performance between loudspeaker and heaphone reproduction systems.
In loudspeaker reproduction, acoustic crosstalk paths are present between the right-channel speaker and the listener's left ear and between the left-channel speaker and the listener's right ear, in addition to the direct paths through which the sound travels to the nearest ears, while there is no such crosstalk path in headphone reproduction. It is probable that if binaural signals are broadcast, the signals may be received by an equipment having no headphone so that the received signals are reproduced through loudspeakers. In such cases, the listener would feel different acoustic impression from what he would when he uses a headphone. This is because binaural signals are originally intended for headphone reproduction. The speaker reproduction of such binaural signals would result in waveform distortions and loss of sonic localization due to the presence of the undesirable crosstalk paths in the listening room. Similarly, the reproduction of stereophonic signals, which have been derived from a pair of microphones in an open space, through a headphone would produce a different impression to the listener from what he would have when he hears the signals in an open space because of the absence of crosstalk paths in the headphone.